Charles Min, a partner and head of South Korea at Affinity Equity Partners, has been terminated for cause, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

His departure will likely delay the launch of the firm’s sixth pan-Asian fund by a few months, the first source added. Fundraising was originally pencilled in to begin in 2Q26.

Affinity decided to act after an independent external investigation found that Min’s behaviour amounted to misconduct and violation of company policy, the first three sources said. This information has been communicated to LPs.

The fourth source said the process could have been politically influenced and economically motivated, citing significant inconsistencies in Affinity’s claims. They added that they expected Min to explore all available options.

Responsibility for Affinity’s Korean portfolio has passed to Samuel Kim and Michael Kim, who were elevated to partner last year, having both joined in 2013. Between them, they have been involved in each of the firm’s investments in Korea over the past 12 years, according to the first source.

Those promotions – along with that of Mark Chudek, head of Australia and New Zealand – coincided with the staged departure of three existing partners. It was billed as part of a transition from Affinity’s second generation to third generation of leadership ahead of the Fund VI launch.

Samuel Kim, Michael Kim and Chudek formed part of a six-strong partner team alongside Min, Southeast Asia head Benny Lim, and KY Tang, the firm’s founder and managing partner.

When Affinity closed Fund V on USD 6bn in 2018, Tang was one of two managing partners alongside Young-taeg Park and Chul-joo Lee. Both have since retired.

Affinity and Min declined to comment on the circumstances of Min’s departure.

However, Min confirmed his exit in a LinkedIn post that recognised his participation – and that of others – in “some of the most meaningful private equity investments in Korea” over the course of 19 years.

He identified seven deals as examples of strong value creation. Two have already been exited: Oriental Brewery delivered a 6.6x return in 2014 while the sale of Burger King Japan, for 5.8x, closed in February. The others – business services platforms ServeOne and Ubase, recruitment company JobKorea, car rental operation SK Rent A Car, and Burger King Korea – are existing portfolio companies.

Four were classified as tough rescues: Oriental Brewery once again; insurer Kyobo Life and e-commerce platform SSG, now both exited; and food container manufacturer Lock & Lock, which is still held by Affinity.